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Up .” “ Natty Dread ” was the title track to the Wailers ’ latest album , released the prior Fall . During the song , Marley sings about the self-assurance found in his Rastafari beliefs . Eric Clapton had a # 1 single with his 1974 cover of Marley ’ s underdog anthem “ I Shot the Sheriff ,” but the two versions caught on these platters prove that the definitive version belonged at home with the world ’ s premiere reggae band .
– Jeff Elbel
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PETER GABRIEL Growing Up Live Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped ( DVD ) ( Eagle Rock )
This package documents the concert tours supporting Peter Gabriel ’ s 2002 album Up . The Growing Up Live disc reissues 2003 ’ s concert film from Milan , Italy in high-definition Blu-ray format for the first time . The ambitious tour flexed both musical and visual muscle , with Gabriel ’ s veteran band augmented by Richard Lepage ’ s striking design and an innovative stage set in the round . Gabriel and daughter Melanie sing “ Downside-Up ” while walking an inverted track in mid-air , suspended by wires . Gabriel rides a bicycle around the perimeter as the band skips merrily around the revolving stage during a jubilant “ Solsbury Hill .” The Blind Boys of Alabama rise from below to add stately Gospel harmony to Up track “ Sky Blue .” Gabriel prowls and bounces inside a giant inflatable hamster ball , imagining a return to the womb during “ Growing Up .” Deeper cuts include “ Animal Nation ” from The Wild Thornberrys Movie soundtrack , a song inspired by musical interaction with Bonobo apes . Top hits including “ Sledgehammer ” and “ In Your Eyes ” bring the crowd to fever pitch . Guitarist David Rhodes lashes into the meaty riff of “ Digging in the Dirt .” Bonus features on this disc include documentary film Growing Up on Tour : A Family Portrait , directed by Gabriel ’ s daughter Anna , as well as The Story of Growing Up . Tour photos by superb bassist and avid photographer “ Uncle Tony ” Levin are also included . The Still Growing Up DVD captures European footage from 2004 in arenas , sheds and town squares during an ambitious victory lap . As well-rehearsed as the band was from the prior year , Gabriel and company stir things up with several different songs . Cuts veer further from the beaten path with “ White Ashes ” and “ The Tower That Ate People ” from 2000 ’ s Ovo , and the low funk of “ Burn You Up , Burn You Down ” from the long-gestated Big Blue Ball project . Gabriel addresses his audiences in their native tongue , describing the backstory to the Native American rite of passage tale “ San Jacinto ” in French . Even those who don ’ t speak the language will understand the menace of le serpent as Gabriel imitates a rattlesnake ’ s deadly warning . Favorites including protest pieces “ Games Without Frontiers ” and the stirring “ Biko ” are played , the latter concluding with thousands of voices singing along to drummer Ged Lynch ’ s martial beat . “ Come Talk to Me ” was written as a song about Gabriel ’ s once strained relationship with the daughter now featured in the touring band . Here , Gabriel performs the song hand in hand with Melanie to electrifying effect . Bonus cuts include a studio rehearsal of Up ’ s “ No Way Out ” not included in either concert film , as well as a version of “ No Self Control ,” filmed in 1988 when a still youthful Gabriel still had a full head of hair ( a distinction he mentions with a grin during Growing Up Live ). The main film ’ s more contemporary Gabriel benefits from a richness in his earthen voice that can only be the result of years and miles .
– Jeff Elbel
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TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS The Complete Studio Albums Vol 1 ( 1976-1991 )
( MCA )
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were born in the vinyl age of the ‘ 70s , and the great American band ’ s music is now collected on the format that its longtime fans know best . Two boxes of high-quality vinyl reissues have arrived in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Heartbreakers ’ eponymous debut . Volume 1 includes Petty ’ s first nine albums with the classic five-piece line-up anchored by drummer Stan Lynch . Original bassist Ron Blair departed after four albums , but not before playing on staples ranging from 1976 ’ s “ American Girl ” to “ The Waiting ” and “ A Woman in Love ” from 1981 ’ s Hard Promises . Howie Epstein introduced his savvy bass and high vocal harmonies with “ You Got Lucky ” and “ Change of Heart ” from 1982 ’ s Long After Dark . As one of rock ’ s great keyboardists , Benmont Tench adds shimmering Gospel organ to howling rockers like Damn the Torpedoes singles “ Refugee ” and “ Don ’ t Do Me Like That ,” as well as supremely cool electric piano on deeper cuts like “ Spike ” from 1985 ’ s Southern Accents . Completing the Heartbreakers ’ signature sound is the inspiring lead guitar of Mike Campbell , elevating Petty ’ s reliable riffs with memorable melodies throughout the run , from “ Breakdown ” to “ Learning to Fly .” At the
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